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SPENCER BUFFALO RIFLE – FRONTIER GUNSMITH
REBARRELED WITH AN EARLY HAND RIFLED HEAVY BARREL, .50
CALIBER: A classic example of the post-Civil
War use of surplus military firearms on the Western
Frontier, this Spencer “Buffalo” or Plains Rifle is a
one of a kind, frontier gunsmith shop conversion
offering all the unique features and flavor of a gun
right out of the old west.
Weighing in at just over 12 ˝ pounds, this Model 1860
Spencer receiver is mounted with a .50 caliber, 23”
octagon barrel that measures a full 1” from flat to
flat. The barrel, with its early hand rifled bore, was
likely salvaged from a half stock percussion plains
rifle, as evidenced by the under rib mounting points
still visible on the bottom barrel flat under the
forearm. Apparently the barrel was reversed when it was
mounted on this Spencer action, using the previous
muzzle end to thread into the breech. The bore is
excellent showing evidence of extremely good care by the
original owner, with strong, definitive rifling
throughout. The metal surfaces all have a smooth, even
patina, with no pitting or damage. The barrel is held
in place by using the original military round barrel
band that has been reshaped by the gunsmith to
accommodate the octagon barrel. In addition, the fore
stock is also attached with the original screw through
the bottom of the fore stock into a tenon mounted in the
bottom of the barrel. Both the front and rear sights
are shop made, the front sight highlighted by a silver
blade and the rear sight is a classic buck horn mounted
in a hand cut dove tail mortise. The breech block
functions very well with no play due to wear, with
smooth metal surfaces. The lock and trigger assembly
functions as crisp as a clock. The butt plate shows no
more age than one would expect on one of these rifles
and the magazine tube is complete, intact and fully
functional. The butt and fore stocks have a nice patina
and show the marks and wear one expects to see in a
frontier used rifle, both pieces are solidly mounted
with no play, no cracks or splits and the only damage is
a thin sliver of wood split away from the top, leading
edge of the right side of the fore stock.
Handling this Frontier Spencer evokes all of the color
and the mystique of the early American West, modified
immediately after the Civil War before the Sharps and
Remington rifles became a commercial success on the
buffalo ranges. Far less commonly encountered
today than the Sporting Rifles made by Spencer at his
factory after the Civil War, these modified Spencers
provided an attractive combination of a dependable
repeating rifle, a sturdy, proven design, and a heavy
projectile all in one package at a price considerably
less than the Henry, Winchester M1866 and even the
factory made Spencer Sporting Rifles cost.
Well regarded on the plains and carried by such notables
as Jeremiah “Liver Eating” Johnson, these Frontier
Spencers are in a class all their own and deserve a
place in any Western gun collection.
SOLD
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